Best second

VICTORIOUS SMILE. Mark Anthony Alcoseba beams as he raises his award for placing second in men's single event of the Korea Cup 2018 soft tennis championship held in Aseong, South Korea over the weekend. (Mark Anthony Alcoseba Facebook)

PHILIPPINE Army Private First Class Mark Anthony Alcoseba salvaged a men's silver medal in the Korea Cup 2018 soft tennis championship held in Aseong, South Korea over the weekend.

Alcoseba lost to his Mongolian opponent Bilguun Tsogbadrakh, 2-3 (5-7).

But the loss still turned out to be his best finish in the annual competition. He bowed out in the quarterfinals last year.

"Dati kasi three months pako gadula soft tennis karon medyo one year naman lahi dyod (I only played soft tennis for three months during my first stint but now it's been a year so it made a lot of difference)," the 31-year-old netter said in a Facebook interview with SunStar Davao.

However, the one-year experience still failed to give him an edge over a more seasoned rival from Mongolia.

Alcoseba said, "Makuha na ungta nako ang tiebreak pero di dyod para sa akoa. Next time nalang, medyo taas lang sa experience ang nakalaban nako (I could have taken the tiebreak but it was not really meant for me. I lost to someone who was better experienced than I am)."

In men's team event, the Philippines only reached the quarterfinals.

The team was supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.

The father of two is currently ranked No. 8 in men's open division of the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta). He only joined the national soft tennis team last year and it took him few months to adjust to the new sport having been a tennis player since he was 11 years old.

He also competed in the Asian Games in Indonesia last August. The Manila-based Dabawenyo will also don the country's colors in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

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